Moved into our winter ‘moorings’…

We have at last moved into our new home – or winter ‘moorings’.  We have found a house to rent in Corby!!  Yes, Corby – I know, I know!!  Never in a million years would I have wanted to live here, but the road is a quiet, tree-lined avenue and the houses are 1930s red brick with bay windows in the living room and bedroom.  Several people we have spoken to have told us that it is the nicest road in Corby.  Anyway, we only have a six month lease to start with, so if we hate it we can look for somewhere else.  Most of the boxes are unpacked now, and a couple of bits of furniture bought to fill in the gaps.

We may go out on the boat for the odd few days here and there until the weather gets nasty.  Look out for the blog if we do, but unless we go somewhere or do something really interesting, there won’t be many posts for the next few months.  Have a good winter everyone. TTFN

Still alive and kicking…

This is just to let our regular readers know that we are still alive and kicking and haven’t retreated to non-blogger land!  We have been staying with Mum in Northampton while we get an early start on looking for somewhere to live for the winter, and to return to whenever the weather gets to horrible for us wimpish souls to brave life on board.  We have spent rather a long time in the car and have looked around lots of houses, the majority of which weren’t to our taste.  Quite a few which were to our taste were unavailable to us because the landlord refused to have a dog in the property.  Anyway, we have found somewhere and are just waiting for the references to come through before we can make arrangements to liberate our worldly goods from storage and set up home ‘on the bank’ again.  More news when it happens. 

Welford to Foxton…

Yesterday morning we left Welford for Foxton.  It was another damp and mizzley morning, with the promise of sunshine later.  We had an uneventful morning, apart from some idiot we met at a bridge.  We spotted him and went immediately into reverse well before he saw us.  On doing so he sounded his horn very aggressively, (not the ‘Oops,  have you seen me’  type beep, more the ‘Get out of my bloody way, I’m coming through and and bugger you’ type beeeeep) and continued coming at high speed through the bridge, straight for us.  Rog had to reverse hard to avoid him hitting us!  Then he had the cheek to smile sweetly as he zoomed past us.  Needless to say, he got the ‘Pippy Death Stare’!  I managed to keep my comments to myself until he was out of ear-shot!  We arrived at Foxton in one piece, and moored up behind the Chandlery boat.

We could see a long way when we got the chance in between the trees which line the towpath on this stretch

A little work need with a chainsaw here

This morning we started down Foxton Locks at about 9 am to get to the bottom before the gongoozlers arrived and we had to fend off stupid questions.  We didn’t have to queue, but there were two boats in front of us and one coming the other way, whom we passed in the centre pound.  I was at the helm at the bottom, and totally cocked up the turn towards the swing bridge onto the Harborough Arm.  In my defence, there was a boat moored very close to the lock, waiting to go up.  Anyway, I managed to turn without hitting him, so that’s a bonus (I don’t usually do that sort of manoeuvring as I’m not very good at it!)  We moored up just into the Harborough Arm and walked back up the locks to treat ourselves to breakfast from the cafe.  The locky said I did very well in the locks, but I could only have one sausage as I cocked up the turn!  I threatened to insert my windlass without anaesthetic, somewhere that the sun doesn’t shine!  He laughed and said that someone did that to him last week, and he liked it!  I have to admit that I called a halt to the conversation at that point!

It has been a very busy weekend here at Foxton, plenty of boats, and lots of people as it’s ‘Buskers Weekend’.  Some buskers much better than others!

Tomorrow we are heading to Debdale Marina to leave the boat for a few days while we check out a few house to rent near Market Harborough.  We will de-camp to Mum’s in Northampton so we can leave Cassie with her during the day then we won’t have to worry about leaving her alone on the boat for too long.

Nice and quiet when we started down the locks this morning

Little plant struggling to grow halfway down a lock wall

Really leaky gates to one to the locks in the staircase

Just about to enter the last lock

Saturday 8.7 miles and 1 lock

Sunday 0.3 miles and 10 locks

Welford…

We made for the Welford Arm in misty drizzle this morning.  We had a phone call yesterday evening from long-time RAF (now, like us ex RAF) friends Shirley and Andy to say they were going to be in the Leicester area today, and could they come and see us.  We arranged to meet them in the Wharf Inn at the end of the Welford Arm for lunch.  They stayed until 3.30 when they had to leave to go and do some Sainsbury’s shopping for Shirley’s mum.  It was great to see you both again, and thanks for making the effort to come and find us.

Turning onto the Welford Arm

Up the jungle again

Shirley and Andy (and Rog and Cassie of course)

3.8 miles and 1 lock

No Medieval village here…

This morning we left Crick, heading for Welford Junction.  We planned to stop just short of the junction and make the short trip up the arm to Welford tomorrow.  It is very empty on this stretch of the Leicester Section on the GU, but very pretty.  Nothing much to take photos of except fields, trees, red-brick bridges and the occasional tractor.  It started to rain quite heavily at one point, and after 20 minutes of getting wet the sun came out again.  Shortly afterwards we found a nice spot to moor a little earlier that planned, just past Bridge 36 and in the shadow of Downtown Hill.  We have had rain showers on and off since then, so we are glad we moored up when we did.  I took a walk between showers to the site of the Medieval village of Downton.  Nothing to be seen there now except for a stubbly field.  Up on the top of Downtown Hill there is what looks like a gate-house or lodge to be seen, but neither Nicholson’s or Pearson’s mentions anything about a it.  We have checked Google and OS maps and can find nothing, except several farms with ‘Lodge’ within their name.  Very puzzling!  Downton Abbey perhaps?!!

All alone!

Site of the Medieval village of Downton (or Downtown, depending on which map you are looking at)

Rain on the way again!

The mysterious lodge or gatehouse on the hill

8.1 miles and 0 locks

Watford Locks…

We trundled off to Watford Locks this morning, wondering how long we would have to wait before being able to ascend, as we had heard reports that the average waiting time was between 3 and 5 hours.  As it turns out we were in luck, we were third in the queue to go up (they were letting six at a time up and down).  The first of the six coming down was exiting the bottom lock as we arrived, and we only waited just over an hour – it would have been slightly less, but a boat broke down in the 3rd of the staircase and had to be bow-hauled out and through the 4th lock into the pound above the 2 single locks to await repair.  It was very windy, and we had a job to keep the bottom gates shut while we got to the paddle gear.  We could have done with a locky to hold one shut while we let some water down, but, as usual, if you know what you’re doing they let you get on with it, which is as it should be I suppose.  I didn’t take particular notice of the time when we started and finished, but I know we were through and on our way by just after midday.  Next to negotiate was Crick Tunnel – it was raining in the tunnel!  We have never before had to pass so many boats in a tunnel – 6 in all, with 3 more heading towards it as we exited –  loads of boats going in the opposite direction to us – we wondered what they knew that we didn’t!  We found a mooring just opposite Crick Marina, and decided to stop for the day.

Reflections – taken yesterday evening at Norton Junction

Watford Locks – in the first of the staircase 4 with the two single locks below

Rog preparing the last lock in the flight as it was so windy, so I could go straight in, but in the event I chickened out and made him take over at the helm!

5 miles and 7 locks

Catching up…

I was beginning to bore myself with the blog so I thought I’d have a couple of days off, and give our readers a rest from my drivel, but it’s time to catch up now or I’ll forget it all!

On Monday we had a short journey, with nothing to report, and moored up about an hour from Braunston.  There was a lot of harvesting of fields going on by our mooring, so it wasn’t the quietest in the world but interesting to watch how these huge Combines make short work of the field.

Yesterday morning we set off for Braunston.  It didn’t seem as busy as usual as we approached, and there were a few mooring spaces which we have never seen before.  We stopped and watered up and emptied loo cassettes and then continued on towards the locks.  We wanted to go to the chandlers by the bottom lock, but as we approached it was obvious that it was rammed with boats waiting for the lock, so we managed to pull in to a mooring space before we got there and walk the rest of the way.  Purchase made, we waited for the lock, and were lucky enough to share with a great foursome on a hire boat – obviously experienced, and a great deal of fun.  The chap at the helm was an ex fireman, so there was a lot of joshing going on, and some friendly insults along the way.  We seemed to be up the 6 locks in no time at all.  We carried on to Norton Junction and found a mooring just after we turned onto the Leicester section on the GU.  We tied up and wandered down to the New Inn for some lunch, but we missed it by a couple of minutes – they stop serving at 2.30 by the bar clock, which is 5 minutes fast – so be warned!  When we got back from the pub we set to making use of our purchases from the chandlers.  We have struggled to find something to put on the rear deck to make it non-slip, but rubber matting was always too thick as we have an upswept stern and the back doors only just clear the deck when opening.  When we met up with Triskaideka a couple of weeks ago (they have the same stern as us) we noticed that John had lifted his back doors with washers and put some rubber matting down – doh, why didn’t we think of that??!!  We had bought the matting and the washers at the chandlers.  It was a tricky job, but didn’t take too long – the matting had to be cut to shape, and we had to use nine washers on one of the doors to lift it high enough to clear the matting.  But we are very pleased with the result, and Cassie likes it too as she doesn’t slip when jumping on or off the boat.

Lovely morning

Sunken boat on the approach to Braunston

The famous Horsley Ironworks bridges at the junction with the South Oxford

The obligatory photo of Braunston Church

Exiting Braunston Tunnel

Our mooring

Our handiwork – and very pleased we are with it too

Monday 3.2 miles and 0 locks

Tuesday 7.1 miles and 6 locks